Fixing a Self-Closing Hinge on Kitchen Cabinets (Infographic)

Have you ever encountered any issues on your kitchen cabinets? If your answer is YES, then there’s a good chance that you’re having some troubles with its hinges. As the main mechanism used for connecting linked objects, hinges play a vital role in several household accessories which include your kitchen cabinets. Without a working hinge, the contents that are stored within your cupboards could be well exposed to outside elements such as moist, parasites, etc.

In order to avoid any unnecessary damage to the cabinets, manufacturers started developing self-closing hinges. Constantly slamming the cabinet door is not a good habit especially if you wanted to preserve the ideal condition of your cabinets. But with the use of self-closing hinges, the cabinets can be closed gently without exerting much of an effort on the part of the user.

However, self-closing hinges tend to become a bit faulty overtime and the reasons could lie on the hinge itself. If you have a self-closing hinge that won’t work anymore, do not consider buying a new cabinet door right away.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to fix your self-closing hinges for cabinets:

Step 1: Check if the screw is loose

Take a closer look at the hinges and using a screwdriver, check the screws and tighten every screw that needs to be tightened. A loosed screw can make that cabinet doors misaligned, resulting in the malfunction of the self-closing hinges. Try to reinsert every missing screw as well.

Step 2: Apply lubricant on the hinge

You can spray some oil in case your self-closing hinge doesn’t close automatically. Applying lubricants can help eliminate all of the random junk and stuff that are clogging the crucial areas of the hinge. Once the spraying is done, take a piece of dry cloth and wipe off any excess traces of the lubricant. Check if the door can close on its own and in case there’s still no positive response from the hinges, unscrew the whole hinge and repeat this process.

Step 3: Submerge the hinge on hot water

Though similar to the previous step, this process can further get rid of all the remaining stubborn debris lingering in your self-closing hinges. If you have a slow cooker, fill it with water together with about a couple spoons of liquid laundry detergent. Put the unscrewed hinge on the mixture and turn on the pot on medium heat. Let it soak overnight and wipe the hinge afterward.

Step 4: Find the adjustment screws and loosen or tighten them

If all else fails, the most probable cause of your faulty hinges is improper positioning of the adjustment screws. This issue can opt the cabinet doors to be misplaced and misaligned. One remedy that you can do is to locate the adjustment screws in between either the top or bottom hinge. A single move can adjust the door to lean left or right, while another can move the door away from or closer to the cabinet.

Your hinges keep your cabinets from serving its real purpose. Simple knowledge of fixing your hinges can save you more time and money in the long run!